Beverage dispenser



P 1929. L. L. BENHAM BEVERAGE DisPENsER Filed Dec. 22, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet !NVENTOR eoizkhfwum %z's ATTORNEY April 9, 1929;

Filed Dec. 22, 1927 l I I 59 i Z7 Z5 1 3 SheetsSheet 2 lNVENTOR April 9, 1929. L. L. BENHAM BEVERAGE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 22, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR PILL'GATTORNFY beve Patented Apr. 9, 1929.

UNITED STATES LEON L.-IBENHAM, OF IRONDEQUOIT, NEW RATION, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YOR YORK, ASSIGNOR TO RICHARDSON CORPO- K, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

BEVERAGE DISPENSER.

Application filed December 22, 1827. Serial No. 241,882.

This invention relates to a beverage dispenser of the general type in which a beverage is discharged into a transparent receiver for display purposes, and has for its chief purpose to afford an improved construction which advantageously combines the functions of satisfactorily displaying the beverage in motion and readily permittin its dispensing when desired. v

In prior types of beverage dispensers, where a transparent display unit has been employed, the general practice has been to maintain a body of beverage in the bottom of the transparent container, drawing oft" the age as needed from this supply in the transparent container, and a more particular purpose or" the present structure is to en able drawing the beverage for dispensing either before or as it is being discharged into the transparent display receiver, thus resulting in securing a colder-drink and making it unnecessary to afford liquid tight connections between the transparent unit and its support, or to ice these parts.

A further purpose of the invent-ion is to provide a structure in which there is a constant circulation from a source of supply to a transparent display receiver with facility for drawing the beverage for dispensing direct from the source of supply or as it is on its way to or being discharged into the transparent display receiver, the discharge into the receiver being interrupted while drawing the beverage.

A more particular object 0; the improve ment is to provide dispensing meanscooperating with a transparent display receiver in such a way as to catch the beverage as it is fountained or otherwise discharged into the display receiver and carry it outside the re ceiver for dispensing.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide mechanism permitting discharging a beverage into a transparent display receiver so as to obtain a fountain effect and arrang ing in operative relation to such discharge point a movable dispensing unit adapted to be positioned in the path of the discharging stream. of beverage and when so positioned to convey itoutside the transparent receiver for dispensing.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the description.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation of a dispensing apparatus incorporating one embodiment of the invention;

Figure Q'is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the upper portion of the parts shown in Figure 1, and with the dispensing member in position to permit discharge of the beverage into the display receiver; 7

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the display receiver and showing the dispensing member moved inwardly to convey the beverage to the dispensing outlet;

Figure 4 isan enlarged sectional view of the movable dispensing member with its supporting means and illustrating it in its outward position as'when permitting discharge of the beverage into the transparent display re ceiver;

Figure 5 is a similar view illustrating the dispensing member as when pushed inwardly to convey the beverage to the dispensing out let; I k

Figure 6 is an enlarged side elevation of the fitting for supporting the dispensing member H Figure 7 is a plan view, broken away, of the cabinet upon which the transparent display receiver is mounted;

Figure 8 is a sectional view on line S-S of Figure l, and

Figure 9 is a plan view of the base or pedestal on which the transparent display receiver is mounted. v I

The invention as herein disclosed has reference particularly to one embodiment, but is to be understood as not confined to the particular arrangement about to be described, since this is but one example of various adaptations of the improvement.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the several views, 1, designates a cabinet having an opening 2 in its top for a purpose that will appear present ly, and 3 designates a source of supply for the beverage, preferably in the form of a tank set within the cabinet 1 and adapted to be suitably iced or refrigerated for keeping the beverage cold. Mounted on the tank 3 is a removable cover including a hinged portion 4, to permit filling with beverage, an electric motor 5, shaft 6, centrifugal pump 7, and

' with a transverse wall 12 constituting a bottom for the transparent display receiver and having openings therein, see Figure 8, one

of said openings being designated at 13 to permit passage of the beverage into the transparent display receiver, while 1a is a drain opening permitting the beverage to flow from the display'receiver back to the source of supply, through a coupling 15 and flexible pipe 16 which may be in the form of a rubber hose, and which extends downwardly into the tank 3, as shown in Figure 1.

The beverage is forced by the pump 7 from the source of supply or tank 3 to the transparent display receiver through a conductor which includes pipe 8, flexible tube or hose 18, coupling 19 and discharge pipe 20, which latter is preferably arranged centrallyof the display receiver and acts to discharge the beverage upwardly, giving a fountain-like effect as it enters the display receiver. The base or pedestal 11 is provided with a hollow neck 21, see Figure 2, which extends through the opening 2, see Figure 7, and aifords a convenient means for housing the flexible pipes 16 and 18 that serve as a means of communication between the source of supply and the transparent display receiver 10.

From the structure thus far described, it will be seen that pump 7 maintains a constant circulation of the beverage from the tank 3 upwardly through pipe 20 into the transparent display receiver 10 and thence returning through the drain opening 14 back into the tank 3, this operation continuing without interruption except when it is desired to draw off a glass of the beverage, and "the mechanism will now be described for accomplishing this purpose according to the structural embodiment herein disclosed.

Movably mounted in a side wall of the transparent display receiver 10 is a dispensing member in the form of a tube having a discharge outlet 26 at its outer end and being inclined at its inner end with reference to its longitudinal axis, as shown at 27, to afford an extremity which is horizontally disposed with reference to the upper end of the pipe 20 when the dispensing tube is moved to its innermost position, as shown in Figures 3 and 5. The tube 25 just described may be made glass or other suitable material, and preferably is slidably mounted for endwise moveme'nt in fitting formed of bakelite or other suitable material and held against the sidewall of the transpa pt receiver 10 by means of the collar29 and'nut 30. Y

.The fitting 28 is recessed to receivea spring 31 surroundlng the tube 25, one end of the spring resting against the bottom of said rea collar 82 fixed on the tube 25. With this arrangement, the spring 31 normally holds the dispensing tube in its outward position, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4t, and when it is desired to draw offsome of the beverage, the operator presses the tube inwardly to the position shown in Figure 5, in which the inner end of the dispensing tube is positioned immediately above the upper end of the pipe 20 and thus picks off the stream of beverage and deflects it from a point within the transparent display receiver. to a point outside the same, where it may be caught in a suitable glass or receptacle. As soon as the receptacle is filled, the operator releases the tube 25, whereupon the spring returns it to its normal position and the beverage again sprays'into the receiver, as shown in Figure 2.

The structure described is extremely practicable and efficient for the purposes described, and presents some very distinct advantages, noteworthy among which is-that there is no possibility of leakage of the beverage from the transparent display receiver or from the dispensing tube, so that the parts can be economically manufactured and easily assembled. The structure also possesses marked sanitary advantages, since the dispensing tube can be removed by merely sliding it from its supporting fitting and the display receiver can be removed by lifting it off the pedestalor base in which it rests.

Thus all the parts can be quicklyseparated for thorough cleansing as often as required, and there is no likelihood of leakage at the points where this so frequently occurs in the types of dispensers as heretofore constructed. Afurther feature of superiority lies in being able to obtain a colder drink atall times, the temperature of the beverage not being affected by its discharge into the display receiver since the beverage as dispensed comes directly from the source of supply and not from the receiver, giving the "further advantage of eliminating the necessity of icing the display receiver.

While the invention has been described with reference to certain structural aspects, this application is intended to cover modified arrangements or departures coming within the intentof the improvement or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display receiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver, means acting to force the beverage from the source of supply through said conductor to the display receiver, and means operable to permit discharge of beverage into the receiver or to cess or pocket while the opposite-end engages divert beverage from the discharge end of the conductor to a point outside the receiver.

2. A beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display receiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver and arranged to eject the beverage upwardly in the receiver, means acting to force the beverage from the source of supply through said conductor, and a tube extending through a wall of the receiver and movable to a position for cooper ation with the upper end of said conductor so as to convey beverage therefrom to a point outside the receiver.

3. A beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display receiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver and arranged to eject the beverage upwardly in the receiver, means acting to force the beverage from the source of supply to said conductor, and means cooperating with the beverage as it is discharging into the receiver for conveying the beverage to a point outside the receiver for dispensing.

4. A beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display receiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver and arranged to e ect the beverage upwardly in the receiver, means acting to force the beverage from the source of supply to said conductor, and a tube movably supported in a side wall of said receiver said tube-having a dispensing outlet at its outer end and its inner end constructed for cooperation with the upper end of the aforesaid conductor so as to convey beverage therefrom to the dispensing outlet.

5. A beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display receiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver and arranged to eject the beverage upwardly in the receiver, means acting to force the beverage from the source of supply to said conductor, a tube movably supported in a side wall of said receiver, said tube having a dispensing outlet at its outer end and its inner end constructed for, cooperation with the upper end of the aforesaid conductor so as to convey the beverage therefrom to the dispensing outlet, and yieldable means acting to hold the tube with its inner end away from the con ductor permitting the beverage to discharge upwardly into the receiver.

6. A beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display receiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver and arranged to eject the beverage upwardly in the receiver, means acting to force the beverage from the source of supply to said conductor, a tube supported in a wall of the receiver and movable endwise therethrough, said tube having a dispensing outlet at its outer end and an inlet at its inner end that occupies a position over said conductor when the tube is moved inwardly to deflect the flow of beverage into the tube.

7. A beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display re ceiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver, and means within the transparent receiver operable to interrupt such flow of beverage and divert the same from within the receiver to a point outside the receiver for dispensing.

8. A' beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display re ceiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver, and means extending through the wall of said display receiver at a point above the discharge end of the conductor for diverting beverage from within the receiver to a point outside the receiver for dispensing.

9. A beverage dispenser comprising a source of supply, a transparent display receiver, a conductor leading from the source of supply to the display receiver, and means cooperating with the beverage as it discharges from said conductor into the receiver, said means acting to convey the discharging beverage through the wall of the transparent receiver to a point outside the receiver for dis pensing.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

LEON L. BENHAM. 

